Biographies of Dr. Anna J. Cooper & Dr. Carter G. Woodson

Anna Julia Haywood

Anna Julia Haywood was considered an enslaved person form birth. She was born in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1858. Over the 106 years of her life she was an education activist. After her marriage as Anna Julia Cooper she dedicated her life to educating African Americans. She believed that education was a powerful tool that has the ability to transform and empower African Americans and people in general. She taught at Oberlin, Wilberforce, Lincoln, Universities, and St. Augustine Institute before a 39-year stint in the Washington, D.C public schools. At the age of 67 she received a Ph. D. in Latin from the University of Paris. At the age of 70 Dr. Cooper established Frelinghausyen University evening schools where African Americans adults took college courses.

Carter Godwin Woodson

Carter G. Woodson was a son of former enslaved parents. He was born in 1875 in New Canton, Virginia. As a youth he received only sporadic education through self-education. Woodson earned both a baccalaureate and master’s degree from the University of Chicago. In 1912 he became the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in History from Harvard. He retired from teaching in 1922 and spent the remainder of his life rescuing, researching, and writing about the African American experience. He earned the title of Father of Black History. The Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History, the Journal of Negro History and the initiation of Negro History Week in 1926 stand as testimonies to his commitment to education.